This morning, new reporting from the Guardian revealed Donald Trump and JD Vance have taken thousands of dollars from fake electors involved in the vast conspiracy to illegally overturn the 2020 election.
In the four years since Trump unhatched a plot to undermine our elections, many of those very same fake electors have been indicted for their roles in the conspiracy. That hasn’t stopped Trump, Vance, and down-ballot Republicans from accepting large donations from them this campaign cycle.
According to the Guardian, Trump and Vance have taken more than $31,000 in combined donations from Georgia fake elector, David Hanna, since 2021. Vance took another $2,900 from Georgia fake elector, Daryl Moody, in 2022.
Vance has said he wouldn’t have certified the 2020 election without multiple slates of electors from states like George and Pennsylvania. Vance has also refused to commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election.
In addition, Trump and Vance have permitted down-ballot candidates to embrace extremist fake electors as well.
According to the Guardian, Republican congressional candidates have taken large donations from fake electors. Arizona’s Eli Crane received $2,900 from Jim Lamon, a fake elector who is facing criminal charges. In New Mexico, Yvette Herrell accepted more than $3,000 from Rosie Tripp, who served as a fake elector in the state. Herrell also received $2,900 from Deborah Maestas, a former New Mexico Republican party chair who served as a fake elector.
Fake electors hold key roles in the Republican state parties across the country. At least 18 fake electors also served as party delegates at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month.
In Nevada, criminally charged fake elector, Michael McDonald, is the chair of that state’s Republican Party. In Wisconsin, Robert Spindell, a fake elector, continues to serve as one of three Republicans on the Wisconsin elections commission, which oversees voting in the state. In Georgia, Burt Jones and Shawn Still, two fake electors, serve as lieutenant governor and a state senator, respectively.
“It doesn’t take a lot of work to figure out that Donald Trump and JD Vance are keeping extremist election-deniers in the fold as reliable henchmen and women to challenge the results of the fall election,” American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson, Brandon Weathersby, told the Guardian. “They’ve taken thousands of dollars in donations from fake electors and welcomed them with open arms to the Republican National Convention last month. Trump and Vance are actively selling out our democracy in exchange for the power to enact their Project 2025 agenda the day they step into the White House.”
Published: Aug 16, 2024 | Last Modified: Sep 2, 2024